Last month, Katie Freitas, a student at Stonehill College in Massachusetts, became so frustrated by the fact that her college would not distribute birth control, she decided to do something about it herself. Because she was concerned about the dangers of other students having unprotected sex, Freitas attempted to create a Sexual Health and Awareness Group on campus, but was denied by college administration. She then collected hundreds of free condoms from family-planning agencies and distributed them in the dormitories around campus.

However, when the administration heard about this, they quickly confiscated the boxes of condoms.

Now I understand the fact that Stonehill College, which is Catholic-affiliated, refuses to distribute birth control because it is against Catholic teaching. My school is also Catholic, and likewise does not distribute birth control of any kind at the student health center (there are also rumors that the school will take away any condoms or birth-control pills they find in students’ dorm rooms, but I have yet to hear any evidence to either support or deny this). However, having lived on campus, I know firsthand that not distributing birth control doesn’t stop students from having sex: I’ve heard the stories, seen the evidence, and overheard things I shouldn’t have (and didn’t want to!).

The fact is, if college students (or any person…like Bristol Palin?) want to have sex, they will—regardless of whether or not contraception is readily available. But the idea that my peers would have sex without birth control or protection from STDs scares me. Reports have shown that an average of 1 in 4 college students has an STD, and teen pregnancy is on the rise again in the U.S. after a 14-year decline. While I understand the importance of supporting values in religious-affiliated schools, isn’t students’ health and safety more important?

[Photo courtesy of Yale Daily News.]

Adderall is many things. A relief for people with ADD and ADHD. A gift from Heaven (or that sketchy guy in your Bio Lab) for people with impending exams. An extremely effective (if not the healthiest) way to drop 5 pounds. An aid for those wishing to rage all night without the use of illegal narcotics. An incredibly un-ethical method of cheating.

Wait, what?

Yes. Adderall is our generation’s answer to the cheat sheet. It’s powerful, stealthy and available to only a select few. The exclusivity of this drug lends an unfair advantage to those who take it without being prescribed it. As a drug that was created to level the playing field for people who had trouble concentrating due to a DISORDER, it is now used to gain an edge in academia by people seeking to boost their learning capacity.

People like me.

As a frequent user of Adderall as a study aid (I do not have a prescription), I constantly enjoy the benefits of this unfair little pill. Do I need it to concentrate? No. But it sure helps me re-read entire textbooks and write 10 page papers in one night and feel great the next morning. And judging by the pill’s popularity among my classmates (and among my friends who have nabbed prescriptions and sell their extra pills for spare cash), Adderall is pretty much as commonplace as Starbucks at my campus library.

But how does this affect the structure of a competitive university setting? If the people who actually need Adderall to concentrate have no answer to my magic pill, aren’t they just back where they started–scholastically disadvantaged to those without ADD or ADHD? And what about those who can’t find or afford Adderall (the going rate on my campus is $3-5 a pill for 30 mg time release capsules. That adds up when you need 4 in one week)? They’re screwed over by those of us who have access to the drug; and while their academic performance wouldn’t suffer because of mine, if my grades were superior to theirs simply because I used Adderall to boost my ability, it’s cheating.

Why then, do I continue to use something that– in addition to being illegal and unhealthy– I consider to be thoroughly unethical? Because I know my classmates sure as hell aren’t going to stop using Adderall, and I don’t want my GPA to pale in comparison to theirs. I don’t want to place lower on a skewed curve. I don’t want to lose this unfair advantage.

What would you do?

It’s not that I don’t want to see what my wonderful leader is up to, it’s more like I don’t think I need to see it through Facebook. I would love to visit her at her nursing home and hear all about her there.

And even though everyone is allowed to have a Facebook nowadays doesn’t mean they should have them. I’m allowed to buy Depends, but it doesn’t mean that I am going to start wearing them. I work very hard at participating in age appropriate things and I wish everyone else would follow my lead.

No matter who the over-aged friender is, I’ve learned they all share three traits in common.

1. Over-usage of applications

Immediately after accepting their friend request (and putting them on the most limited profile possible) they start throwing vampires, sending goblins, and flinging hug requests. I’m forced to spend more time blocking applications than stalking people’s wall-to-walls. And it seems that for every application I block, five more spring up in its place. Yesterday I blocked the hug-me application request and today I woke up with 14 new requests from the hugger application, huggiest application, huggable application, and hug thrower application. I don’t even know what hug-throwing could possibly mean but I’m pretty sure it’s illegal in at least 34 states.

2. Unnecessary Friend Details

Literally seconds after I’m friended by the undesirables they send the most specific friend details. “I babysat you in 1989 and I changed your diaper 3 times!” Or, “I was the 2nd grade chorus teacher that made you lipsync during the annual Holiday concert.” I used to think they were sending these uber-detailed friend requests to be funny; now I just assume that they send them to remind themselves on a daily basis who I am. I guess the details are the Ginko Biloba pills of Facebook. Either way I never accept them. I like to hope it makes their day a little more eventful since they have to remember who I am every single time they log on.

3. Baby Albums

If you are old enough to be putting albums of your children on Facebook, you don’t belong on Facebook. End of story. Shouldn’t these parents be doing something with their kids instead of posting their daily baths on Facebook (yep, I’ve seen a baby-bath time album…and now I feel like I should be on To Catch a Predator). Not only do they have baby albums, but they sometimes make their actual profile picture a photo of their kid. Every time that happens I freak out because there is always that split second when I’m like, when did I friend a baby?

I miss the days when Facebook was only for the young, fun and college educated. What happened to that? Get off Facebook, oldies!b

Yup. That’s my outlook. Glass half empty because I cracked it while smashing it against my head.

There is one thing, however, that can lift me out of this funk. Babies. Laughing. Lots of babies laughing.

Who knows why this prescription works. Let’s not ask questions. Let’s just bask in the glow of The Best Collection of Laughing Babies On The Web.

Scrunchie In The Face

Adorable? Check. Old Man Laugh? Check

You Know What’s Funny? Counting

Am I Laughing Or Crying?! I DON’T KNOW!!!

Possible Poisoning Has Never Been So Hilarious

And, what if I told you it involved no pills, shots, or weird, granola-hippie “herbal” treatments?

Well ladies, it’s certainly a possibilty…and while it sounds like a dream come true for those of us held prisoner by Tic-Tac-sized pills, I’m not entirely convinced that I can get down while free and clear of all worry. What is this magical device?

Meet the Lady Comp, the one thing on Earth you’ll have to trust more than God. That is, if you dont want mini-me’s running all over the place. It works by recording your temperature upon waking up in the morning, and from the readings, will detect whether or not you are ovulating. Green = go. Red = YOU’LL GET PREGNANT!! DON’T DO IT!!

It sounds incredible. No more bloating, loss of sex drive (which defeats the purpose of BC), acne, and the other millions of side effects birth control usually boasts. But isn’t this esentially the Rhythm Method?

I mean, there is science to back up the claims that you’re internal body temperature rises when you’re ovulating, but I can just hear the voice of the school nurse, my doctor…and yes, my mother telling me I’m crazy for even considering this all-natural, all-faith option.

But like most things that are natural and free of body-harming chemicals, it’s not available in the U.S.. Damn.

Looks like I’ll have to play it (really) safe until Lady Comp goes mainstream.